Going into this event, there were a few goals that EEP and it's partners wished to accomplish. First and foremost was to increase attendance as attendance is the main driver of revenue and a successful campaign. This goal was driven by sales from Eventbrite, social media, and printed invitations. We also wanted to create a successful influencer campaign to add to the overall experience of the event. We were able to find two influencers to attend the event and a few more were generous enough to post on their blogs and social media calendars about the event! Finally we wanted to document the event to have content for future use. The EEP team used video, photography, and live video (Instagram Stories) for the duration of the event.

Takeaways:

This event in terms of our goals was a total success! Ticket sales doubled from the prior year and we had a sell out.The Influencer Campaign was also effective and certainlycontributed to the success of the event by adding a buzz during and after the event.The social media use was effective in creating a group "Buzz." We saw that partners posts were being shared by other partners, guests who attended the event, and by the EEP channels. We also saw many posts from guests and partners who attended the event and used the specified hashtags #roottotable and #tasteofblueridge. Finally we want to acknowledge the feelings of the chefs for this event.The chefs enjoyed the collaboration and atmosphere. They were all very enthusiastic to do more collaboration events moving into 2019!

We feel this event has given Taste of Blue Ridge and the Root to Table Series significant traction moving forward!

Case Study: Shenandoah Kids Trail Blog Tour:Goal: To generate awareness and social media buzz around the Shenandoah Kids Trail Guide by Go Blue Ridge Travel, and to provide families within driving distance with inspiration and resources to plan a 48-hour getaway in the Shenandoah region.

The Shenandoah region is known for its stunning beauty and Go Blue Ridge Travel is a leading resource for planning travel in the region. Go Blue Ridge Travel turned to Trekaroo to help get the word out about the freshly-minted Shenandoah Kids Trail guide. We were charged with building awareness, driving engagement, and boosting long-term referral and SEO around the Shenandoah Kids Trail.

Trekaroo selected five key influencers from our Trekaroo Influencer Network (TIN), all of whom live within Go Blue Ridge Travel’s key target markets (a 3-4 hour drive distance from Shenandoah Valley). A mix of strong lifestyle, food, craft, and parenting bloggers were handpicked to tell the family experience of a weekend in Shenandoah from a variety of perspectives. Coupled with Trekaroo’s reputation for trusted family travel advice and editorial guidance, we delivered a multi-phased campaign.

THE SHENANDOAH KIDS TRAIL INFLUENCER TEAM OF 5, REACHED AN AUDIENCE OF 1.3 MILLON WHO ENGAGED AND SPREAD THE MESSAGE TO A GREATER AUDIENCE OF 4.6 MILLION IN JUST THREE MONTHS THE SHENANDOAH KIDS TRAIL NOW RANKS #1 and TREKAROO RANKS #2 FOR THE KEYWORDS “SHENANDOAH KIDS”.

The #BlueRidgeBucket campaign successfully painted a varied and vibrant picture of the array of activities awaiting families in the Shenandoah Valley, and educated potential visitors in key markets on utilizing the Go Blue Ridge Travel Kids Trail to plan their own multi-day vacations.

Our client, Nancy Craun of GoBlueRidgeTravel.com, had this to say:

"Having five professional Mommy bloggers with their families descend on the Shenandoah Valley made the diversity of family trips REAL here in the Shenandoah Valley. With Trekaroo added to our own google/ social media blitz a 253% increase over the previous year was achieved. Hats off to Trekaroo for a job well done!"